CHICKENPOX – GENERAL INFORMATION
Babies under three to six months usually have protection gained from the mother if she has previously had the disease.
The rash starts on thw trunk but soon spreads to the face, the scalp and the upper parts of the limbs.
It may also involve mucous membranes and pock marks may develop in the mouth, the eyes and in the vagina.
The individual pock mark starts as a red spot which becomes raised, then a blister forms containing clear fluid. This breaks leaving a scab.
Sometimes the blister may be filled with pus.
Successive crops of pocks develop over several days or a week or two.
Chickenpox is infectious for one to two days before the onset of the rash and continues to be highly contagious until no new pock marks develop.
Sometimes the lesions develop secondary infection with bacteria and may then require treatment with antibiotics.
Occasionally, pneumonia may develop.
Another complication is encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. This may also occur with the virus infection of measles.
Shingles or herpes zoster appears to be due to reactivation of the virus lying in the tissues. It affects the sensory nerve cells in the spinal cord.
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